Essay

Glossary Term – Organization

Anti-Federalists, including Samuel Adams, Patrick Henry, and George Mason, opposed the Constitution of 1787 primarily based on the fear that it would create an overly powerful central government and elite ruling class. Though Anti-Federalists failed to prevent the adoption of the Constitution, their objections did lead to the inclusion of the Bill of Rights. In 1791, with the ascendancy of the Federalist Party, which favored strong government and a loose interpretation of the Constitution, Anti-Federalists and others who favored small...

Glossary Term – Person

Patrick Henry (1736–1799) was a major figure in the American Revolution and the first governor of the state of Virginia. Henry was not highly educated, but his skills as an orator propelled him to leadership in the Revolutionary era. As a member of the House of Burgesses, Henry vehemently opposed the 1765 Stamp Act. He helped organize Virginia’s first Committee of Correspondence and served as a delegate to the First and Second Continental Congresses. At a meeting of the Virginia Convention in 1775, he stated his commitment to independence...

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Thomas Jefferson Foundation Professor of History at the University of Virginia, Peter S. Onuf has written extensively on sectionalism, federalism, and political economy, with a particular emphasis on the political thought of Thomas Jefferson. In this lecture, he looks at Jefferson’s opinions about federal government.